worm Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
  2. noun a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect
    dirt ball; insect; louse.
  3. noun a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network
    • worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers
  4. noun screw thread on a gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack
  5. verb to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
    twist; wrestle; writhe; wriggle; squirm.
    • The prisoner writhed in discomfort
    • The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace

WordNet

Worm noun
Etymology
OE. worm, wurm, AS. wyrm; akin to D. worm, OS. & G. wurm, Icel. ormr, Sw. & Dan. orm, Goth. waúrms, L. vermis, Gr. a wood worm. Cf. Vermicelli, Vermilion, Vermin.
Definitions
  1. A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. Archaic
    There came a viper out of the heat, and leapt on his hand. When the men of the country saw the worm hang on his hand, they said, This man must needs be a murderer. Tyndale (Acts xxviii. 3, 4).
    'T is slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue Outvenoms all the worms of Nile. Shak.
    When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm, His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks. Longfellow.
  2. Any small creeping animal or reptile, either entirely without feet, or with very short ones, including a great variety of animals; as, an earthworm; the blindworm. Specifically: (Zoöl.) (a) Any helminth; an entozoön. (b) Any annelid. (c) An insect larva. (d) pl. Same as Vermes.
  3. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse.
    The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! Shak.
  4. A being debased and despised.
    I am a worm, and no man. Ps. xxii. 6.
  5. Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as: (a) The thread of a screw.
    The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms. Moxon.
    (b) A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms. (c) (Anat.) A certain muscular band in the tongue of some animals, as the dog; the lytta. See Lytta. (d) The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to economize space. See Illust. of Still. (e) (Mach.) A short revolving screw, the threads of which drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel by gearing into its teeth or cogs. See Illust. of Worm gearing, below.
Worm intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Wormed ; present participle & verbal noun Worming
Definitions
  1. To work slowly, gradually, and secretly.
    When debates and fretting jealousy Did worm and work within you more and more, Your color faded. Herbert.
Worm transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means; -- often followed by out.
    They find themselves wormed out of all power. Swift.
    They . . . wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell. Dickens.
  2. To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm. See Worm, n. 5 (b).
  3. To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of, as a dog, for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw. The operation was formerly supposed to guard against canine madness.
    The men assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies. Sir W. Scott.
  4. (Naut.) To wind rope, yarn, or other material, spirally round, between the strands of, as a cable; to wind with spun yarn, as a small rope.
    Ropes . . . are generally wormed before they are served. Totten.
    5. to treat [an animal] with a medicine to eliminate parasitic worms

Webster 1913